No one wakes up one day and knows calculus.

Let’s be real, I’m 21-years-old and I still don’t know calculus.

Sports knowledge is no different.

Well, except for all those numbers.

Really knowing sports is something that takes years of bonding with ESPN and that screaming drunk guy at the bar to accomplish.

As much as I wish I could magically give my future children the ability to coherently discuss football at age 3, it’s just not going to happen.

There are multiple stages we must pass through to become the ultimate sports fan and I’ve found that a few of the basic steps rarely change from one person to the next.

No matter who you are, your dad was probably your first sports inspiration.

Amanda Jones

My dad raised me as a Georgia Tech fan.

I remember marching inside my hometown gas station with a pom pom, screaming the Georgia Tech fight song after attending one of their few wins of the season.

Or any season.

Don’t worry, I eventually came to my senses.

But, like most kids, I never questioned my dad’s sports choices when I was young.

We grow up knowing what teams we’re supposed to cheer for and what a touchdown is, but there’s a point where our knowledge has to be pushed further.

This next step is different for guys and girls.

A guy starts extending his sports knowledge when he hits puberty — simple as that.

When your voice starts changing, you better know what a first down is or you’re going to lose all your friends and you will never truly become a man.

At least that’s what I’m going to tell my son.

Now, girls can go two ways.

They either stop at step one and continue on their ignorant path of annoying every sports fan around them, or they find a reason to learn more.

That reason is always a guy.

Whether we date a college athlete, the world’s most enthusiastic idiot of a sports fan — or both, they always give us a reason to keep up.

Some girls keep up to be the cool girlfriend.

I keep up to win arguments.

Either way, this pushes those select girls on to the third step with the guys — forming our own opinions.

Growing up, my dad loved playing golf and I spent almost every Saturday watching my brother play his Tiger Woods golf game on PlayStation.

I hated it.

I even tried my hand at hitting a bucket of golf balls at the driving range a couple times. I covered a total of about 50 yards — combined.

I’ve finally reached a point where I have decided I hate golf. I hate the video games. I hate watching it and I hate playing it.

The only thing golf is good for is a nap.

And that’s OK.

There’s nothing better than when you reach this point in your journey as a sports fan. Half the fun of following sports is having different opinions from those around you.

My brother and I grew up watching Space Jam about twice a day with Michael Jordan posters covering our walls.

Now he likes Lebron James.

We obviously do not see eye-to-eye on this topic, but it never fails to bring some fun, sibling rivalry to the table during basketball season.

Never be afraid to form your own opinions and spark a little controversy in the sports world. It will only make being a fan that much more fun.

I mean, everyone is entitled to his or her opinion.

My brother’s just happens to be wrong.

— Amanda Jones is a senior art education major from Gainesville and the design editor of The Red & Black. Her column appears weekly.